Dimension 3
by Asj Johnson
Summary: Ed's in the middle of trying to keep Al and the Stone away from the military and the Homunculi, when his double appears, claiming that this world's Trisha Elric wasn't Ed's real mother. Alternate series ending?
1. The Truth About Trisha Elric

**Things you should know: **First, this takes place near the end of the series, so there may be spoilers. Besides that, I thought I'd try starting in the middle of something and explain later. So, you _shouldn't _know what's happening. It's supposed to be a mystery. (The Fullmetal Alchemist will appear in chapter three, okay? Just don't stop reading when you see that this guy isn't Ed.) I'll explain a little at the end of the chapter... Also, this is fanfiction - thus, I don't own.

**Chapter One: The Truth About Trisha Elric**

Edward ran down an alley in the rain. "Al! Where are you?!" he called as he glanced at the different buildings as he past by them.

"Brother!"

Edward stopped and turned his head toward the building to his right. A woman in a black dress held Alphonse, a long sharp finger under his chin.

"Ed! Help me!" Alphonse called out before the woman backed inside the building with him.

"This is why I told you to stay home with Mom!" Edward yelled, upset that he had somehow ended up in Central and gotten himself kidnapped. He ran toward the building - an old warehouse with boarded windows. As he entered the dark warehouse, he yelled, "Let him go!" Edward then shielded his eyes as bright light filled the room.

"First, you need to do something for me..." The woman said.

"Not until you let my brother go!" Edward yelled. He then noticed that the building was filled with tables full of scientific equipment. Mainly, clear containers holding a red liquid.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that."

"Then I'll just have to make you!" Edward said. A transmutation circle on one of his black, fingerless gloves lit up and he touched the floor. A deep crack appeared in the floor and rushed toward the woman's feet, knocking her off balance. Edward leaped over the floor and grabbed Alphonse's hand, then ran for the door.

"Hello, Pipsqueak."

Edward gasped as he turned his head. "You're not Al..." He let go of the person's hand and stepped away from him.

"Very observant. - _Not_."

"Who are you?! And where's Al?!" Edward demanded.

"You can call me Envy. And as for your brother... I guess he's still with your mom," Envy said and shrugged.

"In that case, I'm out of here," Edward said and continued running for the door.

"Not so fast... You still need to help us," the woman said and extended a finger past Edward and curved it around, so if Edward continued forward he would run into it. Edward gasped as he stopped.

"Good work, Lust. I think he's starting to get the idea," Envy said with a smirk.

Edward turned toward the two of them, saying, "What do you want from me?!"

"Simple..." Lust said. "We need your help in achieving our dream to be humans."

"What?" Edward said in surprise as he widened his eyes. "You're... not human?"

Lust shook her head. "But we _could_ be, if you help us finish this formula. You know... You're one of the only people still alive who knows how it works..."

Edward glanced toward the tables behind them. _'Could it be...'_

"Yes. It's the formula Tucker invented," Lust said.

"How would _that_ make you human?! It just opens portals to other dimensions!"

"You idiot," Envy stated.

Lust smiled at Edward's ignorance. "Surely you remember that's not _all_ it does... Don't you recall your little adventure several months ago?"

Edward remembered how he had ended up in another dimension, in his alternate's body. "You want to switch bodies with a human version of yourself, right?"

"And, give the pipsqueak a treat!" Envy said with a smirk.

Edward glared at Envy. "Quit calling me that!" He then turned back toward Lust. "If you know about the formula, you must know that I'm the only person still alive in this world who is able to go through the portals."

"Not quite. You and Jonston weren't the only ones who have traveled to other dimensions, Edward. You inherited the ability from your mother."

"Huh...?"

"Your father met Jonston one day and told him about his sick wife. Jonston told him there might have been a way to cure her, a one in a million chance. Your father agreed to pay him the amount he asked in return."

"What did he do...?" Edward asked. When Lust didn't say anything, Edward repeated, "What did he do to her?!"

"He switched them," Envy said simply.

"What?"

"I said, he _switched_ them. He knocked out your 'mommy', took her with him to another dimension, and brought back her double in her place."

"You mean... She's not my real mother...?" Edward asked, shocked.

"What? You never noticed?" Envy asked.

_'Is that why she never talked about the time she was sick? - Because 'she' never was?'_ Edward thought.

"Now, Envy, you don't have to be mean about it," Lust said. She turned toward Edward. "It's true. Jonston told me about it one night, saying how amazed he was to find that another human being could go through the portals. You know... He kept track of the dimensions he's visited. He said he took her from number three. A dimension he was very interested in, being the only one - out of the two hundred and thirty-five he had been to - where he was never born."

_'The only dimension he's visited where he wasn't born...?'_ Edward wondered. "Even if that's true, _you_ still can't use the formula!"

"Your right. After all the time Tucker spent in developing the formula, there's still a key ingredient missing. ...And that ingredient is your blood."

Edward took a step back.

--End Chapter--

So... Now for a little explaining. This is actually the third story in my little fanfic trilogy. Don't need to read the other two if you don't want, though. I'm sure I'll explain everything as I go... But, the other two stories do tell some back story, and the titles are "What Could Have Been" and "Living In The Mirror".

About the title... I tried thinking of a good title, and it just wasn't happening, and somehow, I got the idea to use Jonston's name for Ed's (Fullmetal Alchemist's) dimension as the title - and amazingly, I think it works. It even has the number three in it! (third story in the trilogy, remember?) Can anyone guess how many dimensions there are in total, by the way? Jonston didn't find all of them, so there's more than 235. (And, the dimensions are different from the gate, btw)


	2. A Portal Formed

**Chapter Two: A Portal Formed**

"After all the time Tucker spent in developing the formula, there's still a key ingredient missing. ...And that ingredient is your blood."

Edward took a step back.

"Don't worry. It only takes a drop. See, there's an unknown component that could only be found in your and Jonston's blood. When you come in contact with a portal, your blood reacts with it and lets you, and anything non-living that is touching you, enter. When you pass through it, that component of your blood goes with you."

"All I have to do is add a drop of blood to the formula? It's that simple...? Why didn't Tucker figure that out?" Edward wondered aloud.

"He did," Envy stated.

_"Sewing Life Alchemist, your time has come..." Scar said as he approached Tucker._

_"N-No! I didn't fix the formula yet! You _need_ me!" Tucker pleaded as he backed against a wall._

"If he knew that, why didn't he tell Jonston and Scar?!" Edward demanded after remembering Tucker's last words.

Lust shrugged. "He knew he would be of no farther use to them if he told, so he kept himself alive as long as he could by _not_ telling."

"That stubborn jerk wouldn't even listen to reason," Envy said.

"He knew _we_ wouldn't kill him, either, as long as he kept it unknown to us," Lust added. "But then your double found his records for us."

"If you had his records, why did you wait so long before trying to get me to help you?"

"It took us this long to gather up enough ingredients, after you and your double used up all Tucker had in stock."

"Oh..." Edward said embarrassedly. He recalled how much red liquid was on the floor right before they tried to activate it. Alphonse told him later that the other Ed even got sick from the massive amount he had absorbed.

"So Edward... Will you help us? All we want is to become human," Lust said.

"And to do that, all I have to do is put a drop of my blood in the formula, right...?" Edward asked. He began walking toward the container Lust pointed out to him. He stared at the liquid for a minute as he said, "There's actually two ways to use it. One way, you let it be absorbed into your skin before charging it." He touched the liquid, which then was absorbed into his skin. Lust widened her eyes. "And the way _you_ want to use it, it needs to be charged before absorbing it. But, I guess you can't use it either way, now, can you?"

Upset, Lust extended her fingers, but Edward dodged the attack and she ended up piercing the wall behind him, instead.

"You're Homunculi, aren't you? That's the only thing you _could_ be... Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but even if you did succeed in switching bodies with a human, it wouldn't _make_ you one. "

"And what would _you_ know?!" Envy yelled. He ran over and started fighting with Edward.

"The formula has entered your bloodstream, mixing with your blood, and thus completing it. You don't even have to agree to help us anymore, child. Now, all we need is your blood, and that can be achieved very easily..." Lust said and aimed at Edward's heart. Edward activated a transmutation circle on a glove and made a wall rise up from the floor, blocking her attack and keeping Envy away, too. Lust didn't retract her claws. Instead, finding that the wall wasn't attached to the floor, she shoved on the wall with her fingers, and Envy shoved on the wall with his shoulder. The wall began to move.

On the other side, Edward shoved in the opposite direction, but it didn't seem to help. He realized that the outer wall of the building was very close to him, and if they kept shoving, he'd be smashed. The transmutation circle on his red jacket began to glow and he turned toward the other wall and began drawing another transmutation circle.

Lust and Envy successfully shoved the stone wall against the other wall, and the inside wall crumpled.

Lust and Envy then widened their eyes as they saw the remaining wall glowing pink.

"He's not getting away that easily!" Envy yelled as he ran for the portal. As he neared it, though, red lightning jumped from it and knocked Envy away.

"We can't follow him, remember? He's the only one able to go through the portal. - Unless we can get his mother or brother to help us." Lust glanced toward the tables in the room, noticing that most of their stock was still intact.

--End Chapter--

Thought it was about time for another chapter. (I'm gonna try re-watching some episodes so I can figure out what to do next... Should involve Ed with green hair and a mistaken identity - unless I change my mind.)


	3. A Wanted Alchemist

**Chapter Three: A Wanted Alchemist**

The train Ed and Al were on was stopped for a search. In disguise, Ed tried not to give himself away as the soldiers talked about their culprit's short stature.

"Commander! We found some weird bronze statue in the back," one soldier called.

"How big is it?"

"I think it looks bigger than a suit of armor, but I don't know."

Ed knew it was Al's disguise they were talking about. He had encased him in bronze so no one would know it was him. Apparently, it didn't work.

"The dwarf was sighted off of the train! He's heading this way!" another soldier called as he ran toward the others, pointing in the distance. All of the soldiers ran off to help in the pursuit.

_'What the...?'_ Ed thought. He looked in the direction the man had been pointing and saw several soldiers chasing what appeared to be himself.

---

"Why in the world are you guys chasing me for?!" Edward yelled as he ran. _'I _did_ get the right dimension, didn't I...?'_ he wondered. He activated an array on one of his gloves and transmuted the ground so it would be harder for them to follow him. He then noticed that he was running beside a stopped train and realized that more soldiers were coming off of the train. _'Well, _duh_. I should be running _away_ from a train full of soldiers trying to find a guy that looks like me!'_ he thought, upset with himself. Edward was just about to turn away from the train, when he felt someone grab his jacket and he was yanked onboard. He fell through the open doorway and landed on his back. While looking up at the ceiling, he heard the soldiers talking as they passed.

"Where did he go?"

"He just disappeared!"

"Keep moving, men! We'll find him sooner or later!"

When he didn't hear anymore soldiers, Edward let out a sigh of relief. Until he felt something moving underneath of him, realized it must have been the guy that pulled him onto the train, and jumped up to leave before he had to find out who the guy was.

"Hold it!" he heard the guy call from behind him.

Edward turned to see his own face. "Ed...?"

"What's going on?! What are you doing here?!" Ed demanded. Edward couldn't find anything to say, and just wore a startled expression. "Never mind. We have to get out of here," Ed said and took Edward's hand. Next stop was the baggage car, where Ed transmuted Al's disguise to release the suit of armor inside.

"Were we discovered, brother?" Al asked.

"Al's a suit of armor... So, I _might_ have the right dimension," Edward said to himself, "But that doesn't explain everything else, so maybe it's just a coincidence..." he pondered, still wondering about the soldiers chasing him and his double's looks.

Al glanced toward Edward, surprised to see two Eds.

"You can talk to yourself later," Ed said, again taking his double's hand. "We need to go before anyone sees us."

As they headed away from the train, Al was the first to say something. "Ed, who is this?" Right after asking, he realized who it must have been. He looked just like Ed, only his right arm wasn't automail. "Is he your double from that other dimension?!" Al didn't actually see Edward before, since he was in Ed's body during the time in their dimension, but he remembered how upset he was about having to heave around a metal arm.

"So I _did_ end up in the right one!" Edward said with a grin. He glanced at Ed. "Then, what happened to your hair? And what's up with the weird glasses?"

"It's called a disguise," Ed said and shot Edward an annoyed glare, but tossed the glasses over his shoulder, anyhow. His hair was starting to lose it's dark green color as well, since it was raining and the water was washing away the dye. "Now it's my turn to ask something. - Why are you dressed like me?!"

"What?! I'm not dressed like you!" Edward exclaimed. "Well... Not exactly..." Ed gave him a look. "Can I help it if we have the same taste in clothes? We're basically the same person, you know."

"Why are you here?" Al asked. "Didn't everything work out alright when we tried getting you back to your dimension?"

"Yeah... But, I needed to talk to you two about Mom."

Ed stopped walking. "Mom?... You _didn't_..." Ed snarled, jumping to conclusions.

"_No_! She's alive and well! And if she wasn't and I _did_ try to bring her back, would I still have my arms and legs?! - I promised you I wouldn't bring her back if she died, remember?!"

"Then what else would you have to talk to me about?" Ed asked, curious.

"Can't you two talk after we're somewhere safe?" Al asked.

"Al's right. Tell me later," Ed said and started moving again. Edward watched as the two brothers ran off, thinking about what Lust had told him earlier. He shook his head of the thoughts and went to catch up with them.

--End Chapter--

It's Ed with green hair! Did anyone else love to see him with green hair during that part of the anime? I wish he kept it...

So... So far it looks as though nothing important will happen in the next chapter... Hopefully it'll be somewhat entertaining, though. By the way, the number of dimensions there are is a somewhat random number (since I doubt it's at all relevant for Ed's time period...), but one that people run across a lot on a computer. I don't see how I'd have a chance to tell it in the story (it's not important), so I guess I might as well say it... There are 256 dimensions. Edward's dimension is number 0, or the home dimension, and there are 255 others. The number involves coloring on the computer in programs like MS Paint and PhotoShop. It's also involved with html, in that I used it a lot when I made background colors and other things with color for my websites. And there's something about IP address or something... I can't remember exactly, but it was involved with a computer-related class I had several years ago. The number's basically a hexadecimal thing.


	4. Differences

**Chapter Four: Differences**

Ed was looking out the window, watching it rain.

"Brother, I was thinking... I remember the gate now, and I'm a philosopher's stone, so I can probably do alchemy without a circle." Al was sitting on the bed and was about to put his hands together to test the hypothesis, but Ed yelled not to.

"Al, you can't use alchemy anymore. If you use the stone's power, we don't know what will happen to you. Wait until we learn more about it, first."

Ed didn't turn his glaze back to the window, but instead stared at Al. He sighed, caving in to Ed's request. Al then glanced toward the door, hearing the knob turn.

"Don't worry, Al, it's just me," Edward said as he shut the door. Al kept staring at him as he took a drink from the bottle he was holding. "What? I got thirsty. No one recognized me and no one followed me here, so you're still safe."

"How could you possibly be thirsty when it's rainy outside?" Ed asked without turning to look at him.

"I donno," Edward said with a shrug. He went over to sit on the bed, and Ed widened his eyes when he came within view.

"Milk?!" Ed exclaimed as he fell backward onto the floor from surprise.

Edward blinked, looked at the bottle he was holding, and looked at Ed. "You don't like milk?"

"I don't know how _you_ could," Ed told him in disgust.

A smirk came to Edward's face and a dark gleam to his eyes, and he started trying to force the bottle into Ed's mouth. "Milk's good for you! Why don't you drink some?!"

"No! Get off of me!" Ed demanded as he tried to squirm away from Edward.

"And you wonder why you're so short?!" Edward asked.

"What?! I'm not short!"

"Shorter than _I_ am!"

"Are not!"

"Drink it!"

Ed knocked the bottle out of Edward's hands and it spilled out onto the floor. "Aww..." Edward said sadly as he watched the milk sink into the floor. At the same time, Ed was grinning that the horrid substance was gone.

"I thought the two of you would be more alike, technically being the same person and all," Al pondered. "But, brother hates anything containing milk - except stew."

Edward widened his eyes and frowned.

"What's wrong with _you_?" Ed asked Edward as he got up from the floor.

"I need to tell you about Mom," Edward said seriously.

"Is anything wrong with her?" Al asked him.

Edward shook his head. "There were these two people - no, _things_ would be a better word for them."

"You mean, the _Homunculi_?" Al asked.

Edward widened his eyes for a second in surprise. "You know about them? ...Well, anyhow, one of them - Lust, I think it was - told me that my mother isn't really my mother - but _yours_. That Jonston switched our mothers years ago."

"She's lying," Ed stated. "You can't believe a thing they say."

"I _want_ to believe she's lying - but I can't. There's too much evidence that says otherwise. Years ago, my mother was deadly sick. We tried everything we could think of to try to keep her from dying, but we couldn't do anything about it. We even tried contacting Dad, so she could see him one last time, but never got a reply from him. Then, suddenly, she was better. After she got well, she never talked about being sick. Every time my brother or I brought it up, she would deny ever being ill. There was also this one time, a little after she got better..."

_Edward left the kitchen with a glass of milk._

_"Milk? I thought stew was the only way to get any milk into your stomach," his mother said with a laugh._

_"Huh? Mom, I've always liked milk. You know that," Edward told her with a smile._

_"But..." She began to say. "Well, I guess I was mistaken, then..."_

"That doesn't prove anything," Ed told Edward.

"But... _Our_ mom did seem to get ill somewhat suddenly, brother," Al said.

"Al, we _both_ know she was hiding her illness from us."

"We don't know that for sure! She never told us whether that was the truth or not!" Al said.

"Trust me. No one switched our mothers. Don't you think one of us would have noticed by now, if it did happen?" Ed asked the two of them.

--End Chapter--

Finally, huh? I managed to watch that part of that episode today... Some things are quotes/partial quotes, by the way. (and will be in other chapters)

I know what Ed meant about not liking milk, but liking stew (from the anime). I don't like milk very much, but I like a lot of things made with milk, like cheese, milkshakes, icecream, etc... I also don't like tomatoes (raw ones are okay, though), but I like a tiny bit of ketchup on french-fries and a little tomato sauce on pizza or condensed tomato soup on spaghetti - unlike milk, though, I don't like much tomato sauce on anything. It's kind'a ironic that I really like Italian food, but don't like tomatoes, since Italians love adding tomatoes to almost everything - there's hardly anything I'll eat at Fazoli's, even though it's my favorite restaurant. They finally got something besides Fettuccini Alfredo that has no tomato sauce, though.

Oh, also, can anyone tell me if you've ever seen anyone eating ice-cream in the show/manga? You'd think Ed'd like ice-cream, if it exists. Anyone have quick access to Ed's birthday episodes? I think there's two places that ice-cream could be... When Hughes threw Ed that party when he turned 12, and when Ed turned 16 a little after lab 5 happened (Hughes party for his daughter). If Hughes has no ice-cream, I'd be very tempted to say that it doesn't exist there. (Heh... I'll let you know what I'm up to if I decide to do it - but, it's not related to this fanfic) (sighs) I tried looking up the year ice-cream was invented and it looks as though it was around for hundreds of years. I had the same results when trying to find the year color photographs were invented... Guess the common folks just didn't begin using color film or eating icecream until much later...


	5. Unchangeable Events

**'Kay, yeah, I know I put this up before. (keep reading...) But, I've gotten some reviews for this chapter and the next, from people saying they didn't understand what was happening, so I tried going through and explaining some things. I added some explanations, a few details, changed a few things around, and I thought It'd be best to just take the chapters down and put them both up again. Besides, it's been so long, anyone who did understand them probably doesn't remember what happened. Heh... But I have an excuse! My house disappeared the morning before finals! (and I put last chapter up the night before it happened) But then there was my RtS story I was working on... Guess that didn't help much. (can't believe I didn't put up any new chapters for this one while I was out of school... well, part of it was because I can't just go on writing, knowing that people don't understand...)**

**Tell me if it still doesn't make sense. I promise I won't put them back up again like this, but I'd still try to work on making them comprehensible - just please tell me what isn't clicking for you...**

**Chapter Five: Unchangeable Events**

"I have something I need to do," Ed said as he walked over to the door.

"Wait, where are you going?" Al asked.

"Good old dad told us, didn't he, Al? Someone out there's been manipulating all of the homunculi. There's something here I'm gonna need... If we're going to stop them," Ed told his brother. _'Dante's place may hold the key... She was teacher's teacher, so there may be something I can learn there...'_

"Dad?" Edward asked, confused.

"He came home a little while ago, but he disappeared again..." Al explained.

"I wonder if I missed him back in my world... I'd have liked to repay him for leaving us," Edward said to himself. He was still upset over the heartbreak his mother had to endure because of Hohenheim abandoning her. After his mother's near-death experience, he told himself that he would never forgive his father, and would never let him return to their family, even if the man wanted to. Edward turned toward Ed, remembering that his double was headed off to find something to stop the homunculi. "Hey, Ed, can I come with you?" he asked. He recalled the homunculi back in his world, and their plan to overtake human doubles of themselves. If Ed and him could find something to stop them, he'd be very happy about it.

"No. Stay here." After seeing a look of surprise from Edward, he explained, "It'd look kind'a suspicious for people to see two of us, wouldn't it?"

"I'll go," Al volunteered.

"No, Al. You need to make sure he stays out of trouble."

"But-"

"Don't worry, it won't take long," Ed said with a smile. He then turned toward Edward, remembering something he had said earlier. "By the way... Why are you calling me 'Ed', now?"

"That's your name, isn't it? It's easier than saying 'other me'," Edward said with a smile and a shrug.

"Heh," Ed said and smiled as he left the room.

"Guess it's just you and me, now, Al," Edward said as he reached to put his hand on Al's shoulder. Al jerked away.

"Don't touch me!" Al said.

"Huh...?" Edward said and stared at the suit of armor.

"Uh... You just... Can't touch me..." Al told him awkwardly, but Edward still waited for an explanation. "It's complicated."

"O... kay," Edward said slowly, deciding not to probe about it anymore for now. "I think I'll go buy some more milk... I didn't drink much before _he_ spilled it."

Al sighed after Edward left the room. He felt bad for not telling Edward about the stone... He was Ed's double, so would it really hurt anything? He _is_ Ed, so telling him would be the same as telling his brother, right? But on the other hand, what would it help if he knew? And... there _were_ some differences between the two of them. There's the milk thing, and Edward _was_ a little taller than his brother, even though Ed would never admit it. There was definitely differences in their pasts... Anyone who just glanced at Edward would notice his right arm. Edward was also more impulsive and seemed happier, which Al attributed to the lack of bad experiences. His own brother wasn't the most thoughtful in the world, but after all that had happened to him, he usually thought through the important things, so he wouldn't make the same mistakes twice. _'And Edward seems happier...'_ popped into Al's mind.

Would Ed be happier if he could get his arm and leg back? Well, they did have the stone... Remembering the phone call he had gotten before he and his brother left Resembool, Al started writing a note for whichever Ed would return first.

---

The door opened and Edward stepped inside the room. It was easy to see that something big was missing. "Al...?" Edward asked. _'Huh... Guess he stepped out for something.'_ Edward then noticed a note lying on a desk, but just as he picked it up, he heard someone else at the door.

"Looks like they're gone," Sloth commented as she looked around the room.

Out of the range of their view, Edward widened his eyes. _'Was that _Mom's_ voice...?'_

Wrath ran for the bed and started jumping on it as Lust walked over to the desk. Edward, under the desk, moved back a little. Lust must have been looking at the note because she told Sloth that Al went to see Tucker.

_'It's that woman... That homunculus who tried to get me to fix the formula for her. But... Who are these other two? Are they homunculi, as well?'_ Edward wondered. _'Er... It's only a matter of time before they spot me __under here__. My only choice is to attack now, while I have the advantage - but I can't move. I can't believe I still have this problem, after all I've been through these past several months.'_

Sloth left the room. Edward was tempted to follow her, but decided against it, sure the other two would see him if he tried to get up. Not long afterward, the doorknob began to turn and the remaining two hid. Ed entered the room and almost immediately knew something was wrong. Edward began to yell for Ed to look out, but Ed was a step ahead of him. Edward watched as Ed fought against Lust and Wrath. When Ed jumped out of the window and the other two followed, Edward pushed aside the chair that had been blocking him from view and rushed to the window to see.

_'I can't believe I'm not helping him!'_ Edward thought, disgusted with himself. After a second, he left the window and ran out the door of the room. By the time he reached the front door and was outside the building, he saw Lust and Ed, looking somewhat chummy, and decided to follow them at a distance.

--End Chapter--

It's been so long since I updated this story... I didn't mean to take so long. I started writing this chapter, then I finally get time to watch the episodes I need to get the details right, and then I realize that I'd be copying things almost directly from the show if I wrote down all the details. But if I don't, it might not be that good a story. Well... I finally decided not to put in much detail and just get something up. I was actually thinking about getting both Ed's back to Edward's dimension after about half of the story, but I was also wanting the story to be about as long as the other two...

Oh, by the way, I started a new, completely unrelated fanfic titled "Return to Shamballa" if anyone wants to read it. It takes place after the movie: Ed's a little taller, now 22, and one morning he finds a way to use alchemy on the other side and Al talks him into trying to open the gate and go back home.


	6. Mommy Sloth

**This chapter reposted for clarification. (I did add some details, so please read it) I'll try to hurry and get a brand new chapter up, when I can.**

**I did mention that there'll be a lot of spoilers in this story, right? If you can't understand it because you haven't seen the end of the series, then I can't help that...**

**Chapter Six: Mommy Sloth**

A drop of sweat ran down Alphonse's cheek as he stood there, his back against the pile of furniture in front of the door. He had told his mother to hide in another room, but now wished she was here to help keep them out.

Alphonse gasped in surprise as he felt something sharp stab him. He looked down to see something long and black sticking out of his right arm. He paled as he saw his arm beginning to bleed. Just a second after the long object was retracted, he jumped away from the door.

On the other side of the blockaded door, he could hear a woman say, "Looks like I've pierced someone," and then someone else say, "Can I lick it off, Lust, please?"

"No, we need this blood for the formula. But I guess you can have the boy, Gluttony, if you can reach him," Lust said.

"Goody!" Gluttony announced joyfully.

"What should we do with the woman?" Envy asked eagerly.

"You _do_ realize we're not sure who's blood this is, don't you? If it's the mother's blood, it's a sure thing. - But if it's the younger brother's, there's only a fifty percent chance it will react to the formula," Lust said. Envy wore a look of confusion, so Lust continued with, "We tie her up in case we need her blood later."

Alphonse, gripping his injured arm, ran over to a nearby table and got the piece of chalk that was sitting there. He drew a circle and transmuted the furniture into a stronger wall, hoping it would hold up against Gluttony.

---

Edward watched wide-eyed as he saw her walking side-by-side with the suit of armor. She looked just like his mom, only with darker hair, and she had a tattoo like the one he noticed on Lust. He had followed Ed and Lust to this warehouse, which he recognized to be the same one Lust had lured him to back in _his_ dimension. But, the glass containers holding the red liquid weren't here. The old factory looked different than he remembered. Edward was still keeping out of sight as he listened to the present conversation.

"It's lies, she's not our mother," Ed told Al.

"I know what she is, alright? But, she's-"

"She's using our memories to manipulate us, period! That _thing_ doesn't have a soul," Ed said in disgust.

"You weren't always so cruel, Edward, dear..."

Edward started. That sentence implied that she remembered an earlier time. _'Could she be... What Ed said about using their memories to manipulate them... Who would have told her about those memories? How would he know she doesn't have a soul? ...I have to know. I have to see what she knows and how.'_ Edward let out a surprised gasp when he saw Ed transmute his right arm into a machine gun. "No wait!" Edward yelled, running in front of the homunculus with his arms outstretched.

_'...Another one?'_ Sloth wondered, surprised.

"Get out of the way!" Ed ordered, swinging his machine gun arm.

"Not until I can ask her some questions!" Edward yelled back. "Don't you want to know the truth?!"

"You're different from him..." Sloth noted. Edward turned his head toward her as she continued. "It's subtle, but..."

"Get away from her, _now_!" Ed called, realizing she was going to try tricking his double over to her side, like she did Al.

"No! What if Lust was telling the truth?!" Edward said.

"She's not your mother! She's not _anyone's_ mother!" Ed yelled. He remembered how Edward had told him that Lust said their mothers were switched. _'I didn't want to let her to know I had this yet, but...'_ He took a small box out of his pocket. "Do you want proof?! I dug this up a few days ago - it's the _real_ Trisha Elric's remains!"

Edward paled and Sloth flinched.

"So even if Lust was telling the truth, this homunculus _still_ wouldn't be your mother!"

"You dug up her _grave_?! Without even telling me?!" Al demanded.

"It's an homunculus's only weakness, Al," Ed explained regretfully.

"How could you do this to me, Edward?" Sloth sadly asked Ed. "How could you be the same boy who spent night and day hunting for a cure to keep me alive? Who attempted the forbidden just to have me back?"

"Heh." Ed's hair was covering his eyes, but the wide smirk on his lips was easy to see. "You need to get your facts straight, Sloth. The truth is, the thought never crossed our minds." Sloth widened her eyes in surprise. "By the time we knew about her illness, there wasn't enough time to even consider searching for a cure."

"But... But I remember..."

"You don't have memories! You're just a byproduct of a failed transmutation!" Ed snapped at her, raising his head to look her in the eyes.

"This isn't how we planned it, Fullmetal." Ed turned his head when hearing her voice. "I'm curious as to how you plan to get her to the transmutation circle, now."

"I'm working on it!" Ed told Lust, annoyed.

"It's you again," Edward said, pointing toward Lust. It was the thing that tried to kill him and take his blood. Sure he was in another dimension, now, but he was in the same building as before. How could that be a coincidence? "Tell me what's going on!"

Lust noticed the teen standing in front of Sloth for the first time. She glanced at Edward, then back at Ed. "...Another homunculus? But... I've never heard of an alchemist making a homunculus of a person still alive..." Lust couldn't understand it. The only explanation for two midgets was that one of them weren't human - the one without automail _must_ be an homunculus, but then, why didn't she know about him?

"_Homunculus_?! You know perfectly well who I am!" Edward yelled at her. "You followed me to this dimension, didn't you?! Well, I won't let you carry out your plans!" Edward moved his right glove in front of his face and activated the transmutation circle on it.

"You idiot," Ed called to his double, "she's from _this_ dimension!"

"How do I know you're telling the truth?! I saw you two together! Maybe you're on her side!" Edward countered. How could he forget how the two of them had walked to this abandoned factory together?

"Dimension? There's other dimensions?" Lust wondered.

"Don't play dumb with me! You know all about Tucker's formula and it's secret ingredient!"

"You mean _him_, genius?" Ed said wearily, pointing out the creature in the corner. Ed wished he could explain things better, but he needed to get Sloth to the array Lust had been working on. That way, he could kill her.

"Huh?" Edward wondered, glancing toward the dark corner. At first he didn't understand. Not until the thing turned its head far enough to see its face. Edward widened his eyes. "T-Tucker?... But... Scar killed him... What _happened_ to him?" There was Tucker, holding Nina in his arms. But, his face was upside-down, and there were the long furry ears sticking out of the side of his head. Besides that, something didn't look right about the big trench coat he was wearing, and Nina seemed so lifeless...

"In _this_ dimension, he didn't make a formula. In this one, he made two chimeras, and then turned himself into one in an attempt to bring back his daughter."

Edward suddenly realized his mistake. Ed was right. This dimension wasn't his. The sight of this warehouse got him all mixed up.

At that moment, Wrath entered the building. "Mommy!" He called as he ran to Sloth's side and hugged her.

Ed sighed. "Not again... How many times do I have to say this?! She's not anyone's mother!"

--End Chapter--

Hope all of that made sense. I thought I'd have that about Edward getting confused, since Ed does in the movie, even after he's been on the other side of the gate for two years.

It's about time I got back to Alphonse, huh? Now I just have to figure out how Edward will realize that he needs his help...


	7. Ruined Plans

**Chapter Seven: Ruined Plans**

"So, this world is only one small piece of the whole... I wonder if that means that every being in this dimension is only one _piece_ of a whole person..." Lust said, having just learned about Edward being from another dimension.

"This isn't the time to be philosophical!" Ed demanded.

Behind them, Wrath could be heard asking, "Mommy Sloth, are you okay?"

"I don't think your plan is going to work, Fullmetal," Lust told Ed gravely.

"And why not?!"

"I believe we're outnumbered. Your brother, and even yourself, won't let you kill her."

Ed realized she was right - except that part about Edward being him, of course. Anyone who _likes_ milk can't be him.

"You're going to pay!" Wrath screamed. Ed turned toward him and saw the young Homunculus's eyes full of rage. "You're going to pay for trying to hurt Mommy!" As he ran toward Ed, the State Alchemist realized that Sloth must have told him about trying to hurt her. The two of them began to fight, as, several feet away, Sloth tried to sweet-talk Edward.

"Ed, darling... I always knew there must have been another one of you... I know _you_ are the one who likes milk... The one who tried to save me from that sickness..." Sloth crooned.

Edward knew there was only one way she would know that stuff... "Could you... really be..."

"This is pathetic," Envy announced disgustedly as he stepped inside. He had been planning to disguise himself as that blonde girl, but he no longer saw the point. The Fullmetal Pipsqueak was fighting with Wrath, Lust was apparently trying to help him - the traitor. Sloth was working on a second pipsqueak (which would have been strange, if Envy hadn't been eavesdropping), while the Philosopher's Stone was sitting in the corner, apparently forgotten about.

At the sound of Envy's voice, the spell Sloth had over Edward broke and he turned to see the green-haired homunculus. - The one who pretended to be Alphonse. _'No. He's not the same one. But, there's someone almost identical to him in my dimension... Who might - no, _will_ - try to trick Al or Mom into helping them, just like they did me. After all, if it's true what they said... That I inherited the completing compound for Tucker's formula from Mom... that means they would be after her, next, and I'm betting Envy can pose as me just as easily as he can Al.'_ Edward turned back toward Sloth and said, "Sorry, but my double's right. You're not Mom. You just have a few of her memories. Now I know... My real mom is dead - but I have another one, who is more real than you can ever be." In anger, Sloth shot water at him from her arm. Edward dodged, then moved his right glove in front of his face, activating the white transmutation circle on it. Next, Edward touched the ground. After a few yellow sparks were emitted, a sword came up from the floor. Sloth laughed as Edward slashed her through the stomach. Edward widened his eyes as he realized that he was only cutting through water.

"Brother!"

Ed and Edward both snapped their head toward the sound of Al's voice.

"Shut up, you idiot!" Envy snarled at the armor he was trying to kidnap.

Ed and Edward both ran to help. Edward knew that Envy, Wrath, and Sloth would be too many homunculi for the three of them to fight, especially since it looked like Al was trying to stay out of the fighting (apparently because they were trying to kidnap him), and Edward still wasn't sure if Lust could be trusted. As Ed went to fight off Envy, Edward went to the nearest wall and began to draw a now-familiar transmutation circle. After finishing the array, Edward called, "Ed, Al - I have an idea!"

Sloth and Wrath were now joining Envy against Ed and Al. Ed knew he had to rely on whatever Edward had planned. "C'mon, Al!" he said and the two of them ran toward Edward. As Ed approached and noticed the circle, he widened his eyes. "Wait... That's not what I think it is, is it...?"

"Trust me, it'll work," Edward stated. He wasn't about to tell _why_ he was so sure it would work, though. Basically, he wasn't sure if Alphonse had inherited the ability to use the portals or not - but, Al wasn't Alphonse. Lust - the one from his world - had told him that anything non-living could go through the portal, as long as he was touching it. Armor isn't usually alive... The only blood Al has is Ed's, from that transmutation circle he drew to attach his soul. Edward activated his left glove and touched the floor to bring a wall up around them, a barricade to hold off the quickly approaching homunculi for a few minutes.

Edward then touched the transmutation circle on the wall and it, as well as the circle he wore on the back of his jacket, lit up. First they glowed yellow, but the color quickly turned to red. A reddish-pink portal appeared on the wall, just big enough for someone Al's size to fit through. Edward noticed Ed's frown. "The homunculi can't go through it," Edward explained, thinking that would ease Ed's mind. It was true that they would probably break through his barricade before the portal vanished, but they don't have the power to travel to other dimensions.

"But-"

"Ed, _go_! It'll fade if you don't hurry, and I don't have enough power left to make another one!"

Ed sighed and stepped through the portal.

"Our turn, Al," Edward announced after Ed passed through the wall.

Al jerked away as Edward reached for his hand. "Can't I step through it without you touching me?"

A surprised sound escaped Edward's mouth. He blinked, recalling the same reaction from before. "But..." Edward could sense the portal weakening. He sighed. "Al, we don't have time to argue. You have to hang on to me as we go though the portal."

--End Chapter--

Hmm... Lots of characters in this chapter, huh? I hope the action is somewhat easy to follow...

It's been so long since I've worked on this story! I didn't really mean to abandon it like that... I was doing homework for weeks, and then I just had to write something for my RtS story, so then I kind'a quit doing homework... And today I realized that I haven't written a chapter for this in months! So, I hope there's still some people reading this. (and I hope writing this in about four hours or so doesn't make it too error-prone...) Anyone curious about what's gonna happen next?

If you're reading this, could you review and let me know? I really would like to know how many people actually look forward to a new chapter...


	8. The Gate

**Chapter Eight: The Gate**

"I can't!" Al pleaded.

Edward felt the portal beginning to close. Another few seconds and it would be too late. "Sorry, Al," he said and grabbed Al's hand, jumping through the portal just in time.

Immediately after touching Al, he knew something was wrong. The next thing he knew, a huge, ominous gate appeared before his eyes. The gate's dark, heavy doors opened with a loud creaking noise that sent a shiver up Edward's spine. Al wasn't beside him, but he could still feel his hollow metal hand in his grip. He wanted to let go of Al, felt he _had _to, but knew Al could be lost in a dimensional limbo forever if he let go now. Edward saw his mother inside the gate's doors. The one that Jonston had taken to Ed's dimension - the third dimension. He was approaching her without walking, as though an unknown force was pulling the gate toward him. Edward gasped in horror as the thousands of eyes in the gate, surrounding the image of his mother, became noticeable, and then black hands, like living shadows, jutted out from inside, reaching for him. He screamed as they pulled him forward, made him watch the scenes they played before his eyes. His screams seemed to echo throughout the inside of the vast interior of the gate.

---

Ed was standing on the outside of the old warehouse, trying to figure out what was taking so long. He could see the pinkish portal on the side of the wall beginning to shrink, and although he couldn't feel it's strength as Edward probably could, he could still tell it wouldn't last much longer. Suddenly, Al and Edward shot forward from the dimensional rip and Ed reflexively jerked out of the way before they knocked him down. The two of them landed on the ground and the portal disappeared just a second later.

"Al! What took you two so long! Didn't you realize the portal was closing?!" Ed scolded, but the frown he was wearing didn't reach his bright amber eyes.

"Sorry, brother," Al said as he stood up and dusted himself off.

The look of relief in Ed's eyes disappeared as his gaze turned toward Edward. He was sitting on the ground, his terror-filled eyes seeming to be focused on something no one else could see. His mouth was opened, as though in a silent scream. He was in a position as if he was frozen while trying to back away from something in front of him.

"...He grabbed my hand when coming through the portal." Al explained. "I tried to tell him not to..." the boy said, as though making an excuse to an angry parent.

Ed had been careful not to touch Al ever since that time they bumped into each other right after the Lior incident. The contact only lasted a split second, but that was all it took for the doors of the gate to open and show Ed his brother's body, still trapped inside. Ed had seen the gate before, and it had still frightened him. Not only was this the first time of seeing the gate for this other Edward, but the contact with Al must have lasted more than a split second if he had pulled him through the portal. Not much more, but definitely a little longer, and each hundredth of a second feels like five minutes when you're in front of the gate. Ed dropped to the ground beside his double. "Edward...?" he asked worriedly. His double didn't seem to hear him, keeping his eyes fixed on the same spot in front of him. Ed wrapped his arms around his double, then said softly, partly to himself, "Ed... You idiot... I could have guided Al through."

"...Brother," Edward whispered, as though it was hard to talk. His gaze shifted toward Ed.

Ed widened his eyes slightly. Edward hadn't called him that since the day, so many months ago, when the two of them were on a train to Central. Edward had insisted on coming with him, saying, "You're like a twin brother to me, so I have to look out for you, right?" and had called him "brother" several times that day, up until Ed had ordered him to promise not to try bringing his mother back if she ever died.

Edward's body seemed to relax a little in Ed's arms. "...What... _was_... that?..." he whispered.

Ed didn't answer him and, instead, let his thick bangs fall in his face, covering his eyes.

--End Chapter--

This was going to be longer, but I couldn't think of anything that could follow that scene...

So, some news... I have re-read "What Could Have Been" and "Living in the Mirror" and realized that I really like those two and also that I forgot so much that I had in them. I also re-read what I have done of this one, and realized that Edward's personality seemed to disappear in this third fic... I think it's partly because I haven't written chapters as fast as before (thus the forgetting his personality thing) and partly because I have way too much from the show in here. I mean, I think, if I took out a lot of the stuff from the show, then there would be less talk of action and more emotion playing out between the characters. I wrote this after re-reading everything, by the way. I hope it sounds better than anything else in this fic. (I also hope it's somewhat in character for Ed, too. That hugging thing was the first thing that popped into my mind - I think it was because of Ross and Ed at the end of the lab five incident - and I tried to find a way to redo that with less motherly love stuff (why would I even think of Ed hugging him? _I_ wouldn't hug him! I'd just poke at him and ask if he's okay. Because I don't really hug people. Well... I might hug my dad or mom... Every so often), but I couldn't think of any other way for this to go...

I want to re-write all of this fic. I want to start at the beginning and just redo everything. - Up to the beginning of this chapter (and I might have to redo it, if things turn out too different), so... I'm guessing that everyone reading would agree that it doesn't sound as good as the first two stories in this series, based on the dwindling reviews... I'll definitely try to redo everything this week, while I'm on Spring Break, between doing all the late homework and illustrations for RtS... (Oh, I did doodle that hugging scene, by the way, but I erased it because I couldn't get them to look right. If you wanna know what it was supposed to look like, though, I found a picture of Ed and Al that looks very close to the way I wanted my pic to look. It's on DeviantArt, by Namineh, titled "FMA :: Now, I can feel you..." - that picture is so perfect and better than anything I could do, but I still want to try the pose again. And I hope I don't subconsciously go by that pic.)


End file.
